Toy printing machine



Aug. 23, 1966 J. w. RYAN ETAL 3,267,850

TOY PRINTING MACHINE Filed Marohlg, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 u Y- Mull- Aug- 23, 1966 .1. w. RYAN ETAL q3,267,850

TOY PRINTING MACHINE Augo 23, 1966 .1. w. RYAN ETAL TOYTRINTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 19, 1965 r' 3,267,850 Patented August 23, 1966 3,267,850 TGY PRINTING MACHINE .lohn William Ryan, Bel Air, and Warren Dale Kabot, Manhattan Beach, Calif., assignors to Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Mar. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 441,208

4 Claims. (Cl. 101-232) Y This invention relates to a new and useful toy printing machine and more particularly to such a machine which includes means for preparing embossed tape suitable for use as printing plates in the machine.

Toy printing machines have been known which require setting and assembly of the individual letters of the copy, which is a slow, careful task inappropriate for many childrens use and enjoyment of the toy.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and useful toy printing machine and printing-plate embossing combination.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved toy printing machine which does not require setting type for each letter individually.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved tape embossing device in combination with a printing machine.

A further obje-ct of the present invention is to provide a new and useful embossing device having means for printing both upper and lower case letters on a strip of tape safely, efficiently and economically.

Another object of the present invention is to provide improved adjusting means for adjusting the inking roller employed in a printing machine.

According to the present invention, a toy printing machine or press is provided which includes a plastic-tape embossing device and a printing machine which are both mounted in a common housing.

The plastic-tape embossing device is used for embossing printing plates in the form of a plastic tape which is supplied from a roll within the housing. The tape is pressure-sensitive and includes a backing strip which may be removed so that a strip of embossed tape can be adhered to a printing roller or drum which is also mounted in the printing machine housing.

Thus, the strips of pressure-sensitive, embossed tape constitute printing plates. An inking roller is also adjustably mounted in the housing for inking the printing plates so that sheets of paper will be printed upon when they are fed through the printing machine. The machine includes a feed roller which feeds the paper under a pressure roller which, in turn, presses the sheets against the printing drum.

The embossing device includes a iirst rotatable Wheel constitutiing a male embossing wheel and a second rotatable wheel constituting a female embossing wheel. The embossing wheels are connected together for rotation on opposite sides of the tape so that the tape will be fed between them. The letters on the female embossing wheel are carried at the outer ends of radially extending arms which may be ilexed inwardly toward the mating male die by a lever-actuated cam which is mounted in the printing machine housing. A roll of tape to be ernbossed may be stored within a tape storage compartment mounted in the printing machine housing and is fed to the embossing device by a feeding mechanism which is actuated by a second cam mounted on the embossing lever. The embossing wheels also carry a suitable cut-off device for severing the embossed tape from the supply roll. The features of the present invention whi-ch are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like elements in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is a perspective View of a toy printing machine of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional View taken along line 2 2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view taken along line 3 3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional View taken along line 4 4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged, partial 4cross-sectional view taken along line 5 5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view taken along line 6 6 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional View taken along line 7 7 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional View taken along line 8 8 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view taken along line 9 9 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE l0 is an enlarged, exploded perspective View of a roller carriage and detent assembly used in the device of FIGURE l;

FIGURE ll is an exploded, perspective view of a rolcller adjusting means used in the device of FIGURE l; an

FIGURE l2 is an enlarged, perspective View of a printing plate used in the device of FIGURE l.

Referring again to the drawings, a toy printing machine constituting a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, generally designated 10, includes a housing 12 having a flange 13 forming an open bottom 14, a top Wall or deck 16, side walls 18 and 20, a front wall 22, and a rear wall 24. T he top wall or deck 16 may conveniently have an injection-molded high-impact styrene construction and is provided with a plurality of upstanding ribs 26 on its upper surface 28 which facilitate the movement of printing paper 30 thereover. The top wall or deck 16 is swingably connected to cylindrical bosses 31 (FIGURE 6) provided on the sidewalls 1S and 20. This permits opening the deck 16 to expose the interior portion of the housing 12 and a printing drum 32 rotatably mounted therein by roller-supporting carriages 34 and 36. The carriages 34 and 36 are aixed to the underside 38 of deck 16 by suitable screws 40 which pass through the deck 16 and threadedly engage tabs 42 provided on ea-ch of the carriages 34 and 36. The carriages 34 and 36 are each also provided with a hub portion 44 which rotatably engages an associated bass 31 to swingably support deck 16 and drum 32. The deck 16 is provided with an elongated opening 45 through which a pressure roller 46, which is rotatably mounted above the deck 16 on carriages 34 `and 36, engages the printing drum 32. The pressure roller 46 includes a resilient sleeve 48 which may be made of a pliable plastic or rubber and which is carried by a shaft 50. The shaft 50 has a tirst end 52 which is journalled in a first saddle 54 provided on the carriage 34 and a second end 56 which is journalled in a second saddle 58 provided on the carriage 36. The end 52 of shaft 50 is provided with key means 6) for keying a pressure-roller, device gear 62 to the shaft 50. The gear 62 includes teeth 64 which drivingly engage teeth 66 provided on the outer periphery of an end cap 68 which is axed to one end 70 of drum 32 so that rotation of the end cap 68 causes the pressure roller 46 to rotate.

Another end cap 72, which has gear teeth 74 uniformly spa-ced about its periphery, is affixed to the other end 76 of drum 32. The caps 68 and 72 are provided with hubs 78 which rotatablymount the drum 32 on hollow cylindrical members 80 provided on the carriages 34 and 36. The drum 32 is rotatably driven by a gear 82 having teeth 84 which engage teeth 86 uniformly spaced about the inner periphery of end cap 68. The gear 82 is rotated by a crank 88 having a shaft 90 rotatably mounted in a boss 92 provided on the side wall 18. The gear is keyed to the shaft 90 by engaging a non-circular portion 94 provided thereon and Iby a bolt 96 which passes through the shaft 90 and threadedly engages the gear 82. The crank 88 is provided with a handle 98 forrotating it upon the boss 92 which includes an annular shoulder 100 rotatably engaged by an. annular lip 102 provided on crank 88.

The paper 30 is fed under the presure roller 46 by a feed roller 104 which includes a resilient sleeve 106 of pliable plastic, rubber or the like, carried by a shaft 108. The shaft 108 has a rst end 110 cradled in a saddle 112 (FIGURE 9) provided on the carriage 36 and a second end 14 cradled in an identical saddle (not shown) provided on the carriage 34. The feed roller 104 also includes 4a gear 116 which is keyed to the end 112 of shaft 108. The gear 116 includes teeth 118 which drivingly engage the teeth 74 on end cap 72 lfor rotation thereby.

The portions 120 of the carriages 34 and 36 which support the pressure roller 46 and the feed roller 104 extend up through the opening 45 in deck 16 to a suitable elevation below a cover member 121 so that the rollers 46 Iand 104 will properly feed the paper 30 to the drum 32 and press the paper 30 against the drum 32 with a suitable pressure. The pressure roller 46 Iand the feed roller 104 are retained in a seated position in their associated saddles by a pair of springs 122 (FIGURES 6 and 9). As is shown for one spring 122 in FIGURE 9, each spring 122 is U-shaped having arms 124 and 126 and a bight portion 128. Each arm 124 passes over shaft 50; the end 130 of each arm 124 is engaged under a xed pin 132 provided on an associated portion 120 of the carriages 34 and 36; each bight portion 128 cages the shaft 108; and the end 134 of each spring 122 is engaged over a pair of lugs 136 (FIGURE provided on an associated carriage 34- 36. j

A printing plate 138 (FIGURE 6) maybe prepared by the machine 10 and adhered to the drum 32 in a manner to be hereinafter described. The plate 138 may be properly inked without getting an undue amount of ink on the drum 32 by an ink-impregnated, inking roller 140 having a pliable, permanently-inked sleeve 142 carried by a shaft 144. The shaft 144 has one end 146 adjustably mounted ina saddle 148 provided on the carriage 34 and another end 150 adjustably mounted in a saddle 152 provided on the carriage 36. A gear 154 is keyed to the end 146 of shaft 144 and includes teeth 156 which drivingly engage the teeth on end cap 68 for rotation thereby. The inking roller 140 may be adjusted to properly ink the plate 138 without getting an undue amount of ink on drum 32 by adjusting means such as an .adjusting cam 158 which is rotatably mounted in a notched opening 160 provided on each carrier 34-36. Each cam 158 includes a lo-be 162 engageable with lan associated end of shaft 144 and is biased into engagement therewith by a spring 164 having one end 166 passing over shaft 144, as dog leg 168 engaging an associated cam 158 and an end 170 engaged against the deck 16. Each cam 158 may be adjusted by engaging a screw-driver slot 172 provided thereon With a suitable instrument and rotating the cam until the lobe 162 correctly positions the shaft 144. Unwanted rotation of each cam 158 is prevented by the engagement of a detent 174 provided thereon with a I notched, arcuate recess 176 provided on an associated carriage 34-3-6.

A child-user of the machine 10 may accurately determine when the drum 32 completes each revolution by a detent means 178 which engages a notch 180 provided on the inner periphery of the end cap 72. The detent means 178 comprises an inverted, T-shaped member 182 including a resilient cross-bar 184 and an upright portion 186 provided with a pair of flanges 188 and a pointed tip 190. The detent means 178 is slidably mounted on the carriage 36 with the flanges 188 engaged behind a pair of clips 190 and guided between a pair of pins 192. The resilient cross-bar 184 is supported on a pair of protuberances 194 provided on the carriage 36 and biases the tip 190 into engagement with the notch 180 each time the drum 32 completes a revolution.

The child-user or other operator of the printing machine 10 may prepare his own adhesive-backed plates 138 by a plate making mechanism indicated generally at 106. The plate making mechanism 196 includes a storage compartment 198 formed in the housing 12 by upstanding partition members 199. A roll of adhesive-backed, embossible tape 200 may 4be stored in the compartment 198 and is fed to an embossing device 202 through a passageway 204 provided behind the front wall 22 by a cover member 206.

The embossing device 202 includes a female embossing wheel 208 and a male em-bossing wheel 210. The wheels 208 and 210 may be made from any suitable material such .as an acetal resin sold by the Dupont Company under the trade name Delrin and are rotatably mounted on opposite sides of the front wall 22 by a screw 212 which passes through `a vertical slot 214- provided in the front wall 22. The lscrew 212 includes an externally threaded end 216 which threadedly engages a shift mechanism 218 which is reciprocally mounted in ways 220 depending from the cover 206. The shift mechanism 218 includes a detent 222 which is engageable with grooves 224 and 226 provided on a bed plate 228 which carries the ways 220. The wheel 208 is provided with a plurality of radial arms 230 which are, in turn, provided with upper and lower case female letters 234 and 236 respectively, adapted to engage similar male letters 237 and 238 provided on wheel 210. When the detent 222 is in engagement with the groove 226, the upper case letters 234 will be in registry with the tape 200 lfor embossing upper case letters thereon in a manner to 4be hereinafter described. When the detent 222 engages the groove 224, the lower case letters 236 are in registry with the tape 200. The wheel 210 includes a knurled periphery 238 and is provided with indicia 240 on its outer face which correspond to the upper and lower case letters provided on the wheels 208 and 210. The indicia 240 may be brought into `alignment with an aperture ora window 242 provided in the member 206 by rotating the wheel 210 to indicate which letter 234 or 236 is in position to emboss the tape 200.

The plate making mechanism 196 also includes an embossing lever 244 including .a shaft 246 which is rotatably mounted in the housing 12 on a journal 248. The shaft 246 includes an end 250 extending through an aperture 252 provided in the sidewall 20 and an end 253 which is rotatably mounted in housing 12. A crank 254 is pinned to the end 250 by a pin 256 for manipulation by an operator of the plate making mechanism 196 to rotate the shaft 246. First and second cams 258 and 260 may be formed integrally with the shaft 246 from a suitable castable metal. When the crank 254 is pulled toward the front of the printing machine 10, the cam 258 engages the radial arm 230 which is aligned with the opening 242 forcing one of the letters provided on `arm 230 into engagement with the tape 200 causing it to be pressed against the male embossing wheel 210 into engagement with a raised letter -corresponding to the female letter provided on the 'arm 230 'so that the tape 200 is embossed thereby simultaneously, the cam 260 causes la pawl 262 to move into position to index a tape :feeding means 264 upon the return stroke of crank 254. When the crank 254 is returned t-o its upright position the cam 260 causes the pawl '262 to reverse its direction of movement to actuate the tape feeding means 264. The pawl 262 includes an end 266 rotatably mounted on a pin 268 carried by a bracket 270 which is -atixed to the partition 199. The pawl 262 also includes a hooked end 272 which is engageable with the teeth 274 provided on a tape-feed-roll sprocket 276 forming a part ofthe tape feeding means 264, to rotate the sprocket 276 one increment in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 2, about its pivot pin 278. The pawl 262 also includes a stop arm 280 which is engageable with the teeth 274 to prevent further rotation of the 4sprocket 276 after the pawl 262 reaches the end of its indexing stroke. The taper'eeding means 264 also includes a highcoeflicient of friction wheel 282 which is carried by the ysprocket 276 and which frictionally engages the tape 200 .against `a neoprene tape-feed-roll idler 284. The idler 284 is :carried by 'a shaft 286 which is rotatably mounted on the front wall 22 and cooperates with the wheel 282 to advance the tape 200 one increment Within the embossing wheels 208 yand 210 each time the lever 254 is actuated. The tape 200 is guided from the compartment 198 into passageway 204 by a tape-guiding wall 288 mounted in compartment 198 and by a slot 290 provided in bracket 270.

The embossed printing plate 138, which includes indicia 291 embossed thereon in reverse order so that they will be printed on paper 30 in correct order, may ibe severed from the roll 200 by a cut-olf knife 292 which is provided -on one of the arms 230a of the fem-ale embossing Wheel 208 and which is engageable with an anvil 294 provided on the male embossing wheel 210 (FIGURES 3 and 5).

Referring now to FIGURE 12, the plate 138 includes a backing strip 296 which protects an adhesive layer 298 (FIGURE 6) provided on the plate 138 to cause it to adhere to the drum 32. Removal of the backing strip 296 from the plate 138 may be facilitated by sliding the plate 138 along a path defined by two parallel shoulders 304 provided on the member 206. This path is interrupted by a slitter 306 having a trailing edge 308 which is barely sharp and which is raised above a leading edge 310. The slitter 306 peels the backing 296 ofrr the plate 138, with the backing 296 passing down below the edge 308 while the plate 138 continues to slide along the path above the edge 308.

After the printing plate 138 has been servered from the roll 200 and ahered to the drum 32, the crank 88 may be rotated by the handle 98 causing the drum 32 to rotate which, in turn, rotates the feed roller 104 and the pressure roller 46. Rotation of the drum 32 also rotates the inking roller causing a uniform coating of ink 50 to be applied to the plate 138. The printing paper 30 may then be fed into printing position between pressure roller 46 and the drum 32 by the feed roller 104.

While the particular toy printing machine herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy printing machine, comprising:

a housing having a front wall, side walls, an d a rear Wall dening an open top;

a deck member pivotally connected to said side walls for closing said open top, said deck being swingable to a closed position and an open position;

roller carriage means depending from said deck into said housing;

a printing drum rotatably mounted in said carriage means, whereby said drum will be exposed when said lid is moved to said open position;

roller means rotatably mounted in said carriage means -for feeding material to be printed upon to said drum;

printing plate means adhered to said drum;

inking roller means rotatably mounted in said carriage means for inking said printing plate means; and

means mounted in said housing for rotating said drum.

2. A toy printing machine as stated in claim 1 wherein said means for inking said printing plate means is adjustably mounted in said housing.

3. A combination as stated in claim 2 wherein said means for adjusting said inking means comprises rotatable cam means carried by said carriage means.

4. A toy printing machine as stated in claim 1 wherein said printing plate means comprises at least one strip of an embossed, adhesive-backed tape.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 198,240 12/ 1877 Drummond.

201,436 3/1878 Moore. 1,036,774 8/ 1912 Arney 101-245 2,046,746 7/ 1936 Holman 270-52.5 2,229,133 1/1941 Sands 101--383 2,584,092 1/ 1952 Keller et al 101-38 2,647,462 8/ 1953 Dell lOl-233 2,934,008 4/1960 Friel et al. 101-232 3,129,800 4/1964 Bogeaus 1976.7 3,133,495 5/1964 De Man 197-6.7 X

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

DAVID KLEIN, Examiner.

W. F. MCCARTHY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A TOY PRINTING MACHINE, COMPRISING: A HOUSING HAVING A FRONT WALL, SIDE WALLS, AND A REAR WALL DEFINING AN OPEN TOP; A DECK MEMBER PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID SIDE WALLS FOR CLOSING SAID OPEN TOP, SAID DECK BEING SWINGABLE TO A CLOSED POSITION AND AN OPEN POSITION; ROLLER CARRIAGE MEANS DEPENDING FROM SAID DECK INTO SAID HOUSING; A PRINTING DRUM ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID CARRIAGE MEANS, WHEREBY SAID DRUM WILL BE EXPOSED WHEN SAID LID IS MOVED TO SAID OPEN POSITION; ROLLER MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID CARRIAGE MEANS FOR FEEDING MATERIAL TO BE PRINTED UPON SAID DRUM; PRINTING PLATE MEANS ADHERED TO SAID DRUM; 